Of course, Yan Zhao paid no attention to Zhou Xueqin.
Like those police officers who had enthusiastically gone into business to be nouveau riche, he only hoped she would be wealthy and never appear before him again.
If she could manage that, Yan Zhao was willing to forget about the allowances that Zhou Xueqin had squandered away in the past.
...
Meanwhile, back at home.
Today, Qin Yu had taken Yuanyuan and Little Wang for their school interview, while Chen Men was watching Yan Dawei prepare the rooms she intended to rent out.
She had a total of fiverge rooms for rent, priced pitifully low at 5 yuan per room per month, totaling 25 yuan.
Yan Dawei had built a separate entrance outside the courtyard and locked the front door, so he coulde and go and move things without disturbing Chen Men''s family.
Seeing Yan Dawei directing a group of people to move scaffolding, bamboo nks, and steel pipes into the house—all materials used for building houses—Chen Men asked him, "Is your family nning to build a house?"
Yan Dawei looked dejected, but upon seeing Chen Men, he suddenly pped his forehead and said, "Men, did your older brother help you build this house?"
Indeed, Men''s house had been built with Chen Degong''s help, and it wasn''t just a simple single-story building. The foundation of this house could support at least three floors.
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Don''t even mention it. I took on the contract to rebuild our factory''s canteen, and I was going to have my brother-inw handle the project. But a couple of days ago, someone told him he could make money prospecting for gold in Japan, so he left me high and dry. Now I''m short a foreman and a construction crew," Yan Dawei said dejectedly.
A foreman?
Chen Men looked at the room full of bamboo scaffolding and steel pipes, and suddenly had an idea. "How about if I act as the foreman?"
Dongfang Group needed to build a canteen, and insiders like Yan Dawei would find ways to secure the contract.
He would make some money himself and then subcontract the work.
"I''m afraid you might not be up to it. This kind of job requires upfront capital," Yan Dawei held up five fingers. "You''d need at least five thousand yuan to start."
"How much can be earned?" Chen Men asked in return.
Yan Dawei again showed five fingers: "If you really dare to take on the contract, I''ll give you fifty thousand yuan for this job, including costs. You should be able to make at least thirty thousand yuan profit."
Chen Degong knew how to build houses and had hired workers before, so he had experience. It was just a canteen after all; it could bepleted in two months at most. This could be some quick money.
"Then it''s settled. Give me the job, and I''ll call my older brother toe and do it right away," Chen Men said decisively.
"Mom, we''re back from the interview!" Yuanyuan called out from a distance. "Little Wang and I have both been epted into Dongfang School!"
The money had already been paid, so in Chen Men''s view, the interview was just a formality. Look how happy it made the two children.
Qin Yu handed the borrowed tuition fee receipt to Chen Men and said with a slight pout, "Our Principal Liu interviewed them personally. He said Yuanyuan was fine, but as for Little Wang, he thinks you need to educate him better."
"Why?" Chen Men asked.
Afraid of affecting the children, Qin Yu lowered her voice and said, "Principal Liu said that the boy can''t sit still, his eyes wander, and it seems like he hasn''t been raised well. Plus, he''s already been through first grade, but his pinyin is aplete mess. The principal only epted him because he''s Yan Zhao''s son. Otherwise, no matter how much money was offered, he wouldn''t have taken him."
In fact, in her previous life, when it was time for middle school, Chen Men had tried to send Yuanyuan, Lu Dabao, and Lv Erniu to Dongfang Middle School. At that time, Principal Liu had only epted Lv Erniu. He didn''t take Lu Dabao or Yuanyuan, saying that Yuanyuan''s eyes wandered and she couldn''t sit still, that she wasn''t cut out for studying.
That Principal Liu was known for single-handedly turning a factory-run middle school into the school with the highest college admission rate in all of Xiping City, consistently ranking as the city''s top middle school.
It had to be said that his judgment was indeed sharp.
He picked only the best students.
In her previous life, Yuanyuan had already been held back and hadn''t continued her education. In this life, Chen Men didn''t want Little Wang to fall behind as well.
Just then, a Coca-C delivery truck passed by, and Chen Men turned to call out, "Yan Xiaowang, didn''t you finish all your Coke? Quick, go after the delivery truck and get another crate of Coke."
Since they had paid the deposit, they were buying Coke by the crate, and all the children were drinking it like water.
They had already bought several crates in a row.
It wasn''t finished yet, so why buy more today?
Yan Xiaowang felt that Chen Men''s behavior wasn''t right. Who spoils children like this?
"Auntie, isn''t drinking Coke bad for you? Why don''t we not buy it?" Even though it was his stepmother''s money, he felt it was too wasteful.
"Drinking Coke is indeed not good. It can affect your bones and stunt your growth," Chen Men said.
Little Wang immediately thought he had caught onto Chen Men''s bad intentions. "So you really are a wicked stepmother. You want us not to grow tall. You''re trying to harm us, to turn us into dwarfs." He was already malnourished, thin, and short, so hearing this made him even more resentful.
"I drink Coke too, and my mom wouldn''t harm me. Brother Little Wang, your thinking is problematic," Yuanyuan immediately came to her mother''s defense.
Little Wang was still angry: "No more Coke. I won''t drink Coke anymore from now on."
Chen Men turned the little boy''s face towards her and tapped his nose. "That''s a very good attitude. After all, our Little Wang hasn''t hidden Coke in the bathroom or sneaked there to drink it for two days now, right?"
Little Wang was stunned for a moment. So Chen Men knew about him hiding Coke in the bathroom and sneaking there to drink it?
He himself actually disliked his habit of hiding things.
This behavior was a form of stealing, a very bad habit, but he couldn''t control himself.
The child''s face turned red, and he turned to run away.
"Yan Xiaowang,e back here," Chen Men called out again.
Little Wang obediently stopped and turned back to ask, "What?"
"Since you don''t want to drink Coke anymore, let''s return the bottles. From now on, drink less Coke, but..." Chen Men deliberately paused.
The two younger ones didn''t care much, but Little Wang pricked up his ears, waiting to hear what came after the "but."
"Children are always craving things, always wanting to eat this or buy that. Starting from today, I''ll give each of you one yuan per week as pocket money. You can buy whatever you want, but you can only ask for money once a week, okay?" Chen Men said.
Pocket money?
They were actually going to have pocket money?
"That''s great, Mom! I want to save it up to buy you a gift," Yuanyuan was the first to speak.
Little Lang had already stretched out his chubby hand, holding it high to show his eagerness for the pocket money.
Yan Xiaowang hesitated for a good while before saying something that was exactly the same as what Yuanyuan had said to Lu Jingyu in her previous life: "I''m grown up now. I don''t like to spend money. You just need to be good to my dad in the future."
The child''s words nearly brought tears to Chen Men''s eyes.
In her previous life, Yuanyuan never asked for pocket money. She denied herself, trying to be the best-behaved child, only hoping that her stepfather would be a little kinder to her birth mother.
"It''s fine if you don''t want it. Give it to beggars then. This is a fixed amount, everyone gets it. Little Lang, you keep yours for now," Chen Men said, keeping a straight face.
When Little Wang didn''t take it, she put it on the windowsill.
Little Wang stared at those two yuan for a long time. Just as it looked like the wind might blow it away, he snatched it into his hand in a sh. Then he ran into the bathroom and took out a bottle of Coke he had hidden in the deepest corner, putting it back in the Coke crate.
From now on, Little Wang swore that if he ever stole Coke to drink in the bathroom again, he''d be a spoon!
Now that she had agreed with Yan Dawei to take on a small construction project, even if it was just her older brother doing the work, the children would of course need to be ced somewhere. Little Lang was already three and a half years old and should start kindergarten. The vige daycare cost 18 yuan a month but didn''t provide meals, so the children had to be picked up at noon to eat at home, which was too troublesome.
Chen Men remembered that there was a private kindergarten behind the postal savings bank. It was a bit more expensive, but it provided breakfast. She was just about to go out and inquire about it.
Suddenly, she heard someone crying outside, crying and cursing. It sounded like Qi Dongmei''s voice.
So Chen Men went out and saw Yan Xishan''s shy red Xiali car parked just outside the coal yard. Qi Dongmei and Hu Xiaomei were sitting in the back seat. Hu Xiaomei was crying, and Qi Dongmei was cursing.
"Who do you think you are, asking for a hundred thousand yuan? All that money Yan Xishan earned was because of me," Qi Dongmei cursed even louder when she saw Chen Mene out.
Chen Men walked over and asked, "Who are you talking about?"
"Whoever responds, that''s who I''m talking about. Police extortion, shameless!" Qi Dongmei said.
In Qi Dongmei and Hu Xiaomei''s eyes, Chen Men was like a soft piece of tofu, easy to push around.
Quick as lightning, Chen Men grabbed Qi Dongmei''s permed hair and started pulling it out the window. "I''m the one you''re talking about, so you''re insulting me?"
Qi Dongmei hadn''t realized Chen Men could be so fierce. With her hair caught in Chen Men''s grip, her head was almost pulled out of the car window, causing her to howl in pain.
Today was like this because Qi Dongmei had been divorced by Fan Xiang. Although she could still live in Hu Xiaomei''s house at the Dongfang Factory, the workers there were spreading vicious rumors. When she went out, those who used to tter her, chat with her, and keep herpany now all avoided her.
Qi Dongmei couldn''t stand it anymore. In a fit of anger, she decided to move back to the Third Brigade.
Yan Xishan was considerate enough to help his ex-mother-inw move. However, halfway through, someone from the bureau tipped him off, saying that Yan Zhao was about to arrest arge group of nouveau riche, and he was one of them.
Some of the nouveau riche wanted to retaliate against Yan Zhao, perhaps through some private revenge, but their leader was Deputy Bureau Chief Ma. Deputy Chief Ma was still in his position and hadn''t been affected at all. Moreover, Yan Zhao had submitted a report requesting to transfer a batch ofpany-level cadres from the demobilized military.
Deputy Chief Ma thus advised the nouveau riche to pay their fines and ept detention if necessary.
In his view, those hot-headed ex-soldiers wouldn''tst long and would eventually stumble, just not right now.
He also advised Yan Xishan to make a big move, since he had connections with Yan Zhao. The n was to continue corrupting him and dampen Yan Zhao''s enthusiasm.
Think about it, he said. The fact that Yan Zhao let himnd safely proves that the man isn''t too smart after all.
Yan Xishan immediately went to the bank and withdrew 100,000 yuan.
Without even giving Hu Xiaomei and Qi Dongmei time to unload, he rushed to Chen Men''s ce to put out the fire urgently.
Qi Dongmei had just been divorced and was about to move back home. Seeing Yan Xishan about to give Chen Men 100,000 yuan, how could she not be anxious and angry?
Yan Xishan was still in the driver''s seat, holding the money, when Qi Dongmei was almost pulled out of the car by Chen Men.
Who was Chen Men? The woman who had once tied him up and beaten him to a pulp.
Where did Qi Dongmei get the courage to confront her? Didn''t she fear being beaten to death?
"Men, stop it..." Yan Xishan couldn''t pull Chen Men away, resulting in him being grabbed and hit by both women.
But even while being beaten by the two women, Yan Xishan had to say what was urgent: "Men, Yan Zhao says he wants to arrest me. He probably wants money from me. Here, I have 100,000 yuan. Don''t worry about people saying you''re taking bribes. Just consider it our marital property that I''m giving you a share of, okay? Here, take it quickly."
Chen Men was still pulling Qi Dongmei''s hair, and when Hu Xiaomei came to break up the fight, she simply grabbed her hair too.
Yan Zhao had said he would investigate Yan Xishan just two days ago, and now he was going to arrest him so quickly?
"You don''t have money either, look, this is 100,000 yuan. You can use it to buy a Simmons mattress, right? Quickly talk to Yan Zhao, tell him I''ll stay in for three days at most, and he has to let me out, okay?" Yan Xishan said again.
Chen Men grabbed the alligator skin bag and smashed it on Yan Xishan''s head.
Let alone Yan Xishan being arrested, Chen Men was so happy she could set off firecrackers. How could she possibly ept his dirty money?
If she took it, wouldn''t she be corrupt too?
Hu Xiaomei also came to grab her wrist, so Chen Men simply pulled her in and grabbed her hair as well.
Fortunately, arge truck entered the vige at this moment. The road was narrow and crowded, which finally separated the fighting group.
Otherwise, with two women against one, Chen Men would surely have been at a disadvantage.
The truck didn''t stop, but Chen Men clearly saw a man in a green shirt jump down from it, looking like Yan Zhao.
Children all ran out from their homes, surrounding the truck, wanting to know what it was here for.
Chen Men saw a bed on the truck, its headboard wrapped up so the color couldn''t be seen, but the style was a Simmons mattress. She was a bit puzzled. Hadn''t she just seen Yan Zhao? Where did he disappear to?
And where did this bede from?
The driver stopped the truck and called out loudly, "Who is Chen Men?"
"I am," Chen Men said loudly.
The driver said, "We''re from the Ximei Mattress Factory. Ximei mattresses, unbreakable even after a thousand hammerings. This is a mattress we''re giving you for the advertisement you did for us. Congrattions, it''s a Simmons mattress."
So this meant that her little idea had actually earned her a Simmons mattress?
When Chen Men heard that this was a Simmons mattress sent by the store, she was of course overjoyed.
Conveniently, Yan Dawei''s workers hadn''t left yet, so she ran next door to call Yan Dawei and borrow his workers to help her move the bed.
As for Yan Xishan, he looked up at the truck and saw that there really was a Simmons mattress on it.
He stood there dumbfounded.
"Brother Shan, how can Men afford a Simmons mattress?" Hu Xiaomei also said in astonishment.
Yan Xishan held onto the 100,000 yuan, stood for a long time, and suddenly sighed, "Let''s go."
"Brother Shan, Men is heartless, an ungrateful wretch. She won''t help you. Give me the money, I''ll help you pull some strings and find a way to get you out," Hu Xiaomei said, reaching for Yan Xishan''s leather bag.
The alligator skin bag contained a full 100,000 yuan.
This was arge portion of Yan Xishan''s life savings, earned through years of hardship, drinking bottle after bottle, being someone''spdog time and time again, smiling and fawning on people, and driving those coal miners down into the mines over and over.
Now Chen Men refused to save him.
Should he give the money to Hu Xiaomei and let her pull strings to get him out of jail?
Yan Xishan wanted to test Hu Xiaomei, so he said, "You know, I have quite a few cases against me. This time in jail, it''s bound to be more bad than good."
Hu Xiaomei reached out to take the money: "Don''t worry, even if you''re facing a murder charge, I''ll definitely get you out. Quick, give me the money."
"What if I''m sentenced to life?" Yan Xishan tightened his grip on the bag and said again.
Hu Xiaomei simply tried to grab the bag: "If you really get life, I''ll wait for you forever."
If it were Chen Men, forget about murder charges, she would curse Yan Xishan to high heaven just for withholding coal miners'' wages. If he really had a murder charge, Chen Men would be the first to report him.
But Hu Xiaomei was different. Not only did she dare to instigate him tomit kidnapping, but she didn''t even care if he had a murder charge on his back.
So the question was, was Hu Xiaomei like this because she loved him, or did she just want his money?
Yan Xishan turned back again, still looking at Chen Men.
She was directing people to unload the big bed, her face beaming as brightly as when he had gone to Chen''s vige to marry her, and they had held hands on the bus to work.
Standing in ce, Yan Xishan was still pondering what he should do with this money.
...
Back to Chen Men, she called a few workers to help her move the bed. She still felt that Yan Zhao had been on the truck earlier, but where had he gone?
"Mom, which room are we putting this bed in?" Yuanyuan fluttered around the bed like a butterfly.
Little Lang couldn''t resist anymore and wanted to jump on the bed.
Only Little Wang was futilely trying to maintain order: "Don''t touch it carelessly, it''ll be bad to sleep on if it gets dirty. And don''t jump around, everyone can only jump once a day."
Yan Zhao came in, carrying some vegetables. His beard was scruffy, and there was a ring of sweat around his cor, looking like he had been working overtime for several days.
The bed was still in the yard. Let the children jump on it for a while and have some fun.
Little Lang was the first to jump on the Simmons mattress, lifted up by Yuanyuan. It was like stepping on spiked shoes, but softer and more powerful. He trembled as he stepped on it, and the bed immediately bounced him up. He used a little force with his other foot, and the whole bed shook,unching him into the air.
Wow, he felt like the bed had thrown him up, but then he fell heavily back down. He was a bit scared, afraid he might fall, but the soft bed caught him, enveloped him, and then bounced him up again. This time it was even higher, and when he came back down, it was likending on soft feathers.
"Sister, jump with me."
"You jump first, I''m afraid we might break it if we jump together," Yuanyuan said.
"Don''t worry, jump together." Before Chen Men could finish speaking, Yuanyuan was already lifted high by Yan Zhao and thrown onto the bed. Yuanyuan let out a surprised cry, but was immediately bounced up.
With a "Wow!", she shouted, "Dad, this is so much fun!"
Little Wang actually wanted to jump too, but he was too shy.
Seeing his dad lift Yuanyuan up, he smiled and stretched out his arms, raising his head waiting for his dad to pick him up.
Yan Zhao brushed past his eldest son and asked Chen Men, "Are you cooking or should I?"
Today Yan Xishan was apparently going to be arrested. Yuanyuan''s dad was being arrested, but the child was blissfully unaware. Chen Men felt quite uneasy about it.
However, unexpectedly getting a new bed for just one point made her mood much better. She took the groceries and said, "I''ll cook. What would you like to eat? How about oil-sshed noodles with lots of vinegar?"
Little Wang had once mentioned that his dad loved oil-sshed noodles with lots of vinegar.
But Yan Zhao mumbled glumly, "Xishan likes vinegar, doesn''t he? I never eat vinegar."
As he spoke, he went to open the door of another bedroom, one he had painted and prepared for putting a bed in.
Of the eightrge rooms in the house, Chen Men only kept three, locking up and renting out the rest.
The smallest room, which Yan Zhao had painted the whitest, was their wedding chamber.
After letting the children jump for a while, Yan Zhao pulled them down to measure dimensions and decide where to put the bed.
Chen Men pondered for a moment.
Actually, Yan Zhao had been sitting in the truck delivering therge spring mattress when he saw Yan Xishan chatting with her and trying to give her money. That''s when he jumped off the truck halfway.
He must have been listening to her conversation with Yan Xishan the whole time.
That dog of a man, was he afraid she''d take Yan Xishan''s money, or was he worried she''d chat with Yan Xishan for too long?
Or was he simply jealous?
He was actually jealous of a scumbag like Yan Xishan?
"Officer Yan, you don''t eat vinegar, right?" Chen Men called out, pushing open the kitchen window.
Yan Zhao paused for a moment: "No, I don''t."
"Tonight I''ll make us some liang pi noodles, slice some pork head meat, and hand-roll some potato noodles. We''ll add some chili powder and Sichuan peppercorns, then sizzle it all in hot oil. It''ll be so fragrant. I won''t add any vinegar to your portion," Chen Men said.
These were all dishes that were typically iplete without vinegar. She''d see how he''d eat them without it.